There is a variant of this daguerreotype in Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes, by Grant Romer and Brian Wallis. It is plate #1708 on page 449, and is listed as 'Unidentified Man'.

Bishop John Bernard Fitzpatrick served Boston from 1846 until his death in 1866 and presided over many changes. There is a book about him and his legacy called Fitzpatrick's Boston, 1846-1866 by Thomas H. O'Connor.

Here are excerpts from a February 2016 article in The Pilot, on the 150th anniversary of Bishop Fitzpatrick's death: "Fitzpatrick's tenure as the Bishop of Boston was marked by several significant events, most notably the Irish Potato Famine and the American Civil War. As an immediate response to the famine, Fitzpatrick appealed to the people of Boston for money to be sent to those suffering in Ireland. In doing so, he created the Relief Association for Ireland, dividing the diocese into districts to better organize the fundraising effort.

In addition to sending aid, Bishop Fitzpatrick also had to address the rapid influx of the Irish Catholic immigrants arriving in Boston. This prompted expansion in several areas, including church buildings, cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and orphanages.

There were some negative reactions to the new arrivals, such as the 'Know-Nothing' party, and the idea of nativism, both of which reached their peak in the 1850s... In his papers, there is much evidence of Bishop Fitzpatrick's efforts to allay these fears.

The other major event of the Bishop Fitzpatrick era was the American Civil War (1861-1865). It is acknowledged that Bishop Fitzpatrick supported the Union; however, due to ill health he spent much of the war in Europe trying to recover -- he allegedly did take the opportunity to advocate for the United States with European nations."

The Find a Grave website tells us Bishop John Bernard Fitzpatrick was born on November 18, 1812 and died on February 13, 1866, both in Boston, Massachusetts. He is buried at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross Crypt, also in Boston.

The site also displays a small newspaper clipping: "The succession of the Right Rev. John Bernard Fitzpatrick as Roman Catholic Bishop of Boston, furnishes, says a Boston paper, a suitable occasion for the statement of a few general facts in relation to his history. So rapidly did he rise in the estimation of those who knew the wants of the Catholic Church in New England, that, in 1843, at the council of Georgetown, he was nominated as a titular Bishop and coadjutor to Bishop Fenwick. The nomination was confirmed by the late Pope, Gregory 16th, and on the 28th of March, 1844, at Georgetown, he was consecrated by Bishop Fenwick, and immediately upon his return to Boston entered upon his duties as coadjutor Bishop of Boston. In his commission provision was made that, on the death of Bishop Fenwick, he should become his successor forthwith, and by virtue of his commission, all the functions and powers previously vested in the late bishop, devolved upon him, and he is now in the full and legal exercise of them."

HOUSING. Wooden frame.

SIZE. Daguerreotype is quarter plate size. Frame is approximately 5 7/16 x 4 7/16 inches.

CONDITION. Resealed by Dennis Waters in 2002. The note says not original mat but appropriate mat. Heavy tarnish. Very good condition.